Photos: Ali-Reza Pahlavi 1966-2011

Alireza Pahlavi, 44, the youngest son of the former Shah of Iran, died Tuesday morning Jan. 4 2011 at his home in Boston, Massachusetts.

Ali-Reza Pahlavi was born on 28 April 1966. He lived in the U.S. where he received a Bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, a Masters of Arts degree from Columbia University, and studied at Harvard University as a Ph.D. student in ancient Iranian studies and philology.The youngest son of the late shah of Iran was found dead Tuesday of an apparent suicide at his home in Boston, after he had “struggled for years to overcome his sorrow,” his brother said.

Ali-Reza Pahlavi residence - Photo: Charles Krupa - Associated Press

Boston police said they found a man dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound shortly after 2 a.m. Tuesday at a home in the city’s South End neighborhood.

Alireza Pahlavi’s sister, princess Leila Pahlavi, died in 2001 at the age of 31 when her body was found in a London hotel. It was noted that she had taken a fatal cocktail of prescription drugs and cocaine. Alireza Pahlavi’s father, Shah of Iran died in July 1980 and is buried in Cairo.

Trita Parsi, the president of the National Iranian American Council, said in a statement that “the Iranian-American community was deeply saddened by the news of this tragedy.

“There are many divisions in the community, but on a day like this, I think we are all united in our sympathy with the Pahlavi family for their tragic and painful loss,” Parsi said.

Pahlavi is survived by his oldest brother, his mother, his sister Farahnaz, and his half-sister Shahnaz.